


Your Rules

by BatmanWhoLaughss



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst and Romance, Canon Compliant, Canon Related, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hera Syndulla Needs A Hug, Intimacy, Mild Smut, My First Smut, Post-Episode: s01e11 Idiot's Array, Slavery, Twi'leks (Star Wars), very mild smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:15:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24293446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatmanWhoLaughss/pseuds/BatmanWhoLaughss
Summary: After the events of Idiot's Array, Hera has some messy feelings about the stunt Lando pulled, offering her up to Azmorigan. Kanan helps.
Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 9
Kudos: 88





	Your Rules

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is my first time writing anything even REMOTELY smutty. it's pretty mild, so hopefully I did alright. But this episode bugged me so much, and I wanted to write about Hera's likely complicated feelings about being offered up by Lando as a slave. Kanan is good at taking care of other people, so I wrote him doing what he does best. Hope y'all like it!! 
> 
> Feedback is much appreciated, especially since I've never written anything remotely smutty before. :)

Hera went back to her quarters early, the events of the day finally catching up with her. Kanan had given her a look she didn’t like; she almost never left the cockpit when they were in the air, even in hyperspace on long jumps. When he asked if she was okay, she nodded and hoped he didn’t see her shaking before the cockpit door slammed closed behind her.

She sat down on her bunk slowly, dressed for sleep, taking a shaky breath as she heard her own voice in her head. _Thank you lord Calrissian, for delivering me to my new master._ She squeezed her eyes shut, resting her head in her hands. At the time, she’d gone along with it, adrenaline mixing with practicality to the point that she just played her part. Now, her stomach churned and she tasted bile in her mouth.

She knew what happened to Twi’lek women. She’d had slurs and insults hurled her way in almost every cantina her and Kanan had been to over the years, and every Twi’lek woman had a friend who was trafficked into slavery. Most of them didn’t make it back.

She never _dreamed_ that she would have to be anywhere near that world, let alone on the receiving end of it, even as part of a stunt to pull a con. Whenever she heard a story about the slave trade, or had some sleemo hurl a comment her way, she always told herself she had her ship. She had a blaster strapped to her hip, the Ghost parked outside. She wasn’t helpless, and she wouldn’t let anyone force her to be.

Now though? She thought back to their arrival on Azmorigan’s ship, and the way her heart stopped when she realized what Lando was doing. The fury and terror had taken over her body simultaneously, but she didn’t have a choice but to go along with the plan on suddenly wobbly legs. She knew it was for the mission, and they got the bad guy, but she was still shaken, more than she thought she would be.

She tried to focus on taking deep breaths, using what Kanan had told her about meditation to try and steady herself. _I’m on the Ghost._ My _ship. My life. My rules._

A knock at the door made her open her eyes. “Can I come in?” Kanan’s voice was soft outside the door. She took a deep breath before humming an affirmation.

The door slid open and Kanan walked in, his eyes searching her face. He’d taken off the armor from his arm, and his hair hung loose. “Hey,” he said softly. “Wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Hera…” The look on his face was full of concern, and said very clearly that he knew she was lying. “You’re trembling.”

 _Oh._ She was. So much for putting on a brave face for her crew. Though, with Kanan, she never seemed to need to; he could always tell. She wasn’t sure if it was his Jedi abilities, or if they’d just been travelling together so long that he’d gotten very good at reading her.

He reached out a hand, palm up, his eyebrow raised in a silent question. She laced her fingers with his and stepped closer to him, her head coming to rest against his chest. He was warm, open and inviting, and the slow, steady beat of his heart was a calming force. His hands came up to run soothing strokes up and down her arms.

He rested his chin at the top of her head. “I’m so sorry about what Lando did.” His voice was hard and bitter, and she could feel his body tense. She sighed, anxiety still coursing through her as she remembered having to serve that _skug,_ even for a second before she took the escape pod. “I had _no_ idea he was going to pull that stunt. I’d have hit him for even suggesting it.”

“We finished the mission.” She mumbled it into Kanan’s chest as he kept up the motion on her arms. He wondered if he was using his Jedi powers to calm her down, or if it was just a natural side effect of his presence. Still, she felt her shaking dying down as she tried to bury further into his warmth. Kanan pulled back, though, leaning down to look her square in the eye.

“Hera. _You’re_ my mission.” His cheeks flushed slightly red as he seemed to realize what he said. “You and the kids. I know how hard that must have been for you,” he mumbled in a softer voice, his hands now gripping both of hers.

She sighed again. “I never thought I’d be forced to do… that, even as part of a gambit. I felt so _powerless._ Just for a little while, but it scared the kriffing _hells_ out of me.”

Kanan’s expression turned sadder and sadder, until he was pulling her against him again. She went willingly, her body shaking once more as she buried her head into his chest. Her arms gripped him like a vice as he stroked her back. “You’re not powerless, Hera. I’m sorry anyone made you feel that way, even for a con.” 

“I… he called me _property,_ Kanan.” Her voice sounded so small, even to her ears. The day’s events felt like a suckerpunch to the gut, and she heard herself breathing fast again. “It shouldn’t get to me, but…” she trailed off.

He tensed again, his whole body going rigid, but his hands kept up their motions on her back. “You’re _not_ property. Not to me, not to any of us. You’re family.” He swallowed thickly. “I’d be feeling violated as all kriff in your position too, so I can’t imagine what you’re feeling as a Twi’lek.” His grip on her seemed to tighten imperceptibly as he chose his next words. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, and I’ll spend every kriffing day reminding you of that if I have to.” 

Kanan pressed his lips to the top of her head as he finished talking. “Thank you.” Because, what else could she say to that? Part of her was immensely grateful that he understood, that he didn’t think she was overreacting. She’d known too many humans who made light of her species’ predicament, and she didn’t think she could stomach it if Kanan did too. 

“I should let you get some sleep. You gonna be okay?” He stepped away from her, giving her space as he backed towards the door. His eyes were still searching hers, his face furrowed in concern. 

He turned to leave when she muttered, “Stay?” 

“Are you sure? I can sleep in my bunk if you want. I didn’t come here expecting anything.” He was giving her an out, respecting her space and her rules and her choice to say no and _oh goddess, she loved him for it._ It was a small thing, but at times like this, the small things meant everything to her.

“I’m sure. I want you to stay.” She led him to her bunk as he stripped off his clothes, sitting on the bed in just his shorts. She kissed him as he went for good measure, and she felt his lips move against hers, soft and pliant. He didn’t move to take things further, letting her set the pace and following where she led. 

“You’re the boss,” he mumbled against her lips as she settled on his lap, his thighs resting between hers. “You’re always the boss.” He was still letting her lead, moving slowly enough that she could stop anything he was doing as his hands came to rest on her hips. 

She took her time with him, running her hands through his loose hair just the way he liked as his lips found her throat, her shoulder, that one spot on her collarbone that made her _mewl_. His moves were slow and languid, never taking more from her than she wanted to give, and when she moved to push him down onto his back, he stopped her with a look. 

“Hera, we can just sleep,” His blue-green eyes were warm, watching her. “You don’t-” 

“I know I don’t have to.” She pressed a finger to his lips and dear goddess, he was so _cute_ when he was looking at her like that. “My ship. My bed. My rules. And I want to.” The smile that spread across his face could have powered the _Ghost_ for a week, and she went to wipe it off him with another kiss. 

She kept her moves slow, Kanan following her lead as she took her pleasure, still smiling even as his eyes were shuddering closed. She moved to push him onto his back again and he went willingly this time, pulling her on top of him. Their lips were still moving as the rest of their clothes hit the floor, Kanan’s hands wandering across her back, her hips, her lekku. Her mouth pressed against his with a bruising urgency, swallowing the small sounds he made as his hands tightened their grip and her tongue tangled with his.

A needy sound that was almost a whine escaped him as she settled on top of him, followed by her own as she started to move, slow at first and then faster and faster until they were both seeing stars. He moaned her name like it was a prayer, and she sighed his like it was a blessing. She watched him underneath her, staring up at her like she hung the moon, and the fact that she could make a _Jedi_ come undone like this made her feel like the most powerful person in the galaxy. Two more snaps of her hips had his eyes sliding shut as he shuddered against her. He let out a small keening sound as she brought them both to the brink, Hera letting go first and Kanan helpless not to follow.

Afterwards, when she collapsed on top of him in a heap, both of them sweaty and exhausted, he dragged his fingertips up her back and gazed up at her with those bright eyes she loved so much. The look on his face was almost awestruck as he pulled her down for a feather-light kiss, her hands brushing away some stray hairs that had fallen forward. 

She curled into his side as his eyes began to drift closed, the exhaustion of the past couple days catching up with both of them. “You control your life, Hera.” She looked over to see his eyes were still closed, his voice a low whisper. “No one else does. Your rules.” 

She stroked the side of his face as an overwhelming surge of affection for this man surged through her. This Jedi who cared for everyone else so much more than himself, who knew her better than anyone and took care of her ship, her body, and her heart, and who managed to make her feel like the most important person in the universe on one of the most degrading days of her life. He was such a profoundly _good_ person that it physically hurt to think about sometimes.

Kanan’s head lolled against her, his lips resting against her forehead as he drifted off. Hera followed not long after. She felt Kanan tighten his grip on her as she nuzzled further into his side, and her last thoughts before sleep took her were that she’d never felt safer around anyone in her life.


End file.
